A Smashing Secret!
by JKrlin
Summary: Shintaro made new friends soon after Ayano passed away, but they eventually grew apart. Later, he met Ene and the Mekakushi Dan. Now, he needs to tie up loose ends and finally say goodbye. But to who? To his old friends or new friends? AU
1. Chapter 1

Waking up, Shintaro looked towards his alarm clock. The blinking numbers indicated that it was midnight.

_Everyone should still be asleep_, he thought, _and it's time to see _them_ one more time._

Shintaro was thankful for Ene. No matter how annoying she was, she was part of the reason he got back into the real world. If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have gotten on better terms with his sister, or he may have never met the Mekakushi Dan. They all helped him open his eyes and to help him finally say goodbye.

Ayano. Shintaro always regretted that he never got to tell her how he truly felt about her. However, on that day when Kuroha accidently shot him, the hikkikomori found himself in his old classroom. Right by the window was the girl with the red scarf. She was looking at out the window, observing the twilight. When she turned to face Shintaro, she smiled that irritating but cheery smile.

At the sight of Ayano, Shintaro stood still, mesmerized. He wanted to just hug her and cry, say that he was sorry and that he loved her. He almost did, and he probably would have done so two years ago.

But a lot of things can change in two years.

Shintaro still dreamt of her, and sometimes, he would stay home all day and get lost in the virtual world. However, the next day, he would spend time with Momo and Hibiya, or go out to eat lunch with Konoha, or talk about music with Kido. Kano would pull a prank on him, Seto would start laughing, and Mary would stand there awkwardly before letting off a chuckle.

Shintaro never got to tell Ayano that he loved her, but now, he has people that he will love and protect for the rest of his life.

Calmly, he walked up to her. With her beautiful smile, she said, "Sorry I died." Even in death, she couldn't stop radiating with brightness.

"So annoying," Shintaro muttered, looking away from Ayano. As her smile began to slowly falter, he spoke again, louder. "But it's okay." He looked directly into her eyes. "Thank you for being there for me. You were a great friend, a great big sister apparently . . ."

Her smile returned, tenfold. He smiled right back. ". . . I loved you Ayano." Small tears began to flow down his face. "I don't know where we are, but even if I never admitted and even if you already knew, I need to tell you right now that I loved you."

Ayano was silent for moment. "I love you too, Shintaro, but you said that you had _loved_ me . . ."

Shintaro sighed, tears still trickling down. "I still love you, and I still miss you. But," the tears stopped as he sniffled, "you don't need to take care of me anymore." He chuckled. "Or take care of Seto, Kido, and Kano. I'll make sure they stay safe." He paused, taking in the girl's slightly startled look. "And the rest of the Mekakushi Dan. They're my family, now. It's my job to take of them. Even if I die, I'll be with them in spirit, like how you were there for me"

He recomposed himself before speaking once more. "If I never get to see you again, I want to say what I should have said when you left two years ago.

"Goodbye."

Ayano retained the startled expression. A few moments later, she slowly widened her mouth and smiled again. Closing her eyes, she started giggling as she removed her red scarf and placed it around Shintaro's neck.

"A gift," she said. "for the new hero."

When she opened her eyes, the color of brown was in the place of red. Bemused at this, Shintaro was about to voice a question. However, before he could, Ayano pulled him close, giving him a kiss.

It didn't last long when Ayano started pulling back. She spoke again. "I've heard about your _other_ friends, too, ya know."

Shintaro's eyes widened. "What? How – "

"It was me."

Shintaro turned around to face the new voice. Once he registered who it was, he relaxed. "Guess I should have expected that you'd try finding her."

The voice gave a small laugh. "You never stopped thinking about her, we all could tell. When I left, I wanted to see just what kind of a person she was like." The voice was amused at how Shintaro blushed.

"He told me about them," Ayano chimed in. "Even if you didn't find the Mekakushi Dan, I think you would have eventually joined their gang instead. After all," she got a mischievous look her eyes, "I'm sure _she_ would have really enjoyed that."

Shintaro blushed. "Yeah, they weren't as annoying as the Dan when we first met." She and the voice had to chuckle when they heard his response. He was avoiding mentioning the other girl who had opened his heart.

"Anyway," the voice continued, "take this." A duffle bag was put into Shintaro's hands. "You need to say a few more goodbyes, go on one more journey before you can really go back to live the rest of your life." The voice stared into the eyes of his old friend. "Sorry, but _they_ also deserve a final goodbye."

After opening up the bag and examining the contents, Shintaro sighed. "It has been a while since I've seen them . . . it really was a long three months with the Dan."

"How have you been meeting with them ever since Ene arrived, anyway?"

"I had to leave during the night, but . . . things were different when you were gone."

The voice looked away. "Yeah, thought so." He looked up again. "I'm sorry, too." He raised his hand towards Shintaro. "I'm sorry for making you do this, but you're the only one that I can trust and turn to for this."

Shintaro stared at the outstretched hand. After putting duffle bag sling over his shoulder, he grabbed the hand and shook it. "I'm always the one cleaning up every single mess." His vision started to falter, white light filling the room.

The voice smirked. "We spent months taking care of you. It's time that you return the favor."

Ayano hugged Shintaro from behind before he blacked out. "Good luck, Shintaro. Stay safe!"

It was two weeks after the incident, and a day after Shintaro was released from the hospital. He made a surprising quick recovery after a shot near his lungs. After everyone, especially Konoha, had stopped fessing over him, he was finally alone. No one would be hanging behind his shoulder when he made this final trip.

After getting dressed with his red jersey jacket, Shintaro left his room and entered the bathroom. He washed his face and looked at his reflection. For a moment, he was staring at dark-colored eyes before it shifted into a bright red. Shintaro still had no idea what kind of powers Ayano had given him. Her siblings might have known, but he decided to ask them about it after his trip.

Just as he was about to open the front entrance of his house, the duffle bag slung over his shoulder and the red scarf around hi neck, a tired voice spoke up from behind him.

"Big brother . . . are you going out? At this hour?"

Shintaro sighed. _Momo. I should have been paying more attention. _He turned and observed his little sister. She was in her pajamas, one hand rubbing her eye and the other holding a glass of water.

He opened the bag and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside the bag was a collection of brown nuts. He took one out and flicked it at his sister. 

It made contact with her forehead. The nut bounced back into Shintaro's hand while Momo stumbled back. She pressed her cup onto where she was hit and started mumbling.

"Ow! What was that for?"

_Sorry Momo_. Shintaro, as fast as he could, unlocked the front door and left. The effects of the Deku Nut should have nulled her hearing. _I'm not in the mood to share what I've been up to. I'll make it up to you when I get back._

When Momo's dizziness subsided, she looked up and saw that her brother was gone. _What? Wasn't he . . . must be seeing things. Guess I'm still getting used to seeing him out of the hospital bed._ She finished her drink and went back to bed._ Hopefully he's up for what we planned for him tomorrow . . ._

Shintaro slowly walked towards his destination: the bridge where he last saw Ayano. _One more time . . . one more time._ Shintaro smiled. _I am really going to miss them, but it's my fault that this wall was set up. I need to make things right._

He made his way to the edge of the bridge, leaning on the guard rail as he watched the moon shine overhead. His gazed shifted moved to look down below towards the river. _Pit, you tiresome brat, you better still be ready for me._ Shintaro climbed up and stood on the railing. He double checked to make sure that his bag was sealed tight. The he rubbed the spot between his chest and his neck where he was shot. The bandages were still there.

_Wonder if there's another tournament going on_, where his last thoughts before closing his eyes and stepping off the rail, plummeting into the flowing water.

X

When Ene awoke from her hibernation, she turned on Shintaro's computer and played an alarm. On the computer screen, she jumped around and shouted excitedly, "Master! Rise and shine! We have a big day planned for you!" Her smile turned into a frown when she noticed that the bed was vacant.

_Strange, he usually never gets up at 7 unless I wake him, but his bed is all cleaned up and neat. Why would he be up and about at this hour? _

Confused, Ene popped into Momo's computer screen and asked her, "Hey, little sister, where is Master?"

Momo had just finished getting dressed and was startled at the cyber girl's sudden appearance. "Huh? You mean he's not in his room?"

Ene vehemently shook her head.

After searching the house and finding no sign of Shintaro, Momo tried calling him. However, she found his phone in his room, under a pillow. The voicemail said, "Sorry. If anyone form the Mekakushi Dan is trying to find me, I'm out on a personal trip. Don't worry about me, I'll be fine."

Ene immediately entered his phone and fumbled through his recent activities. Then she went back to his computer and did the same. Momo was too stunned to move.

_Big brother . . . where did you go? You're still injured!_ She thought back to when she was awake last night, getting a glass of water, and recalled imagining seeing Shintaro. _Wait, so that means you left in the middle of the night? What was so important that you had to leave when you just got out of the hospital!_

Ene sighed as she rematerialized on the screen. "I can't find anything that might tell us where he might have gone. I have no idea why Master would just leave without saying anything. What do you think little sister?"

"I . . . don't know. I think I saw him last night when I was getting some water. He could be anywhere by now."

"We should tell everyone else, ask them if they might know something!"

Momo nodded her head. "Right!"

X

_**I'm not really sure what kind of direction I'd like this story to go. Review and give me suggestions of what kind of scenarios you'd like to see. Keep in mind that I only have a vague outline of what I kind of want to happen and that I'm making some of this up as I go along.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_Kido would never admit it, but she was afraid. She had no idea where she was except that she was in an uninhabited city in the middle of the night. She lost her cellphone, and she couldn't find anyone from the Dan. _

Damn it, _she thought._ Where the hell am I?

_Kido hoped that everyone was okay. Konoha was still very upset with what Kuroha did, and Shintaro was only just released from the hospital. She was worried that they might hurt themselves while lost in this world. _

_ The seventeen year old girl forced her thoughts to relax. She had to stay calm if she were to get out of this mess quickly and safely. She reminded herself that she had her eye ability activated. If anyone wanted to hurt her, they wouldn't be able to see her. _

_ As she was passing by an alley, she paused in her stride. Turning, she saw the familiar red jersey. _

_ "Shintaro!" she yelled, deactivating her powers. "Hey, I've been looking everywhere for –" _

_ The boy's back was facing her. When he turned around, he looked at her with expressionless, empty eyes. They unnerved her. _

_ "Hey," Kido continued, nervous, "are you okay? Do you know where we are?"_

_ He didn't respond. Kido spoke louder in her usual irritated tone. "Hey, what's wrong?" _

_ Shintaro was silent for another moment before finally speaking. "I'm tired."_

_ Now, Kido was very confused. Did something happen to him? "What?"_

_Out of the blue, tears started falling from his eyes. He started sniffling. _

_ "Wha –" Kido's fear returned. She resumed her walk towards him. "Hey, come on. What hap –" _

_ Suddenly, Shintaro drew a gun out. Kido's eyes widened; it looked just like the one Kuroha had. _

_ Shintaro pointed the gun to his head. "You, Ene, the Dan; no one can help me." _

_ Panicking, she started running towards him. She reached out with her arms, shouting, "Wait! Don't!"_

_ There was a loud, shattering bang. Kido halted and watched Shintaro fall backwards. Blood was splattered everywhere. The dark red was spread all over his jersey. All Kido could do was stand there, mesmerized. She fell down to her knees, sobbing uncontrollably._

_ "No . . . no . . . why?" She couldn't stop staring at his body. "Why did you do this? I . . . I lo –"_

_The world disappeared as a white light consumed her vision._

X

The white light originated from the rising sun. It was coming through Kido's bedroom window. When she opened her eyes, she spotted a figure in a green hoodie moving the curtains. The figure looked at her with light brown eyes and gave a bright smile.

"Come on, leader!" Seto said. "It's almost 7! We need to get moving quickly if we're going to get to do everything we planned for!"

Kido sighed. "Alright, alright. Let me get dressed." Seto nodded and left the room. As Kido rose from her bed, she started to shake the dream away from her head.

When she entered the living room, she was greeted with most of the Dan making preparations for the party. Marry and Seto were placing decorations across the walls. Hibiya and Konoha were rearranging the furniture. Kido grinned at them but pondered on where Kano was. At that moment, said member put his arm around her shoulders.

"Oh, leader! You're the one that said to get up early for this. What's with you setting a bad example for the rest of us." He had that stupid smile on his face.

Kido closed her eyes and shook her head. "You're lucky I'm too sleepy to deal with you."

Kano started giggling as he released his adopted sister. "I expected that you'd be really excited for this day. After all," he closed the distance between their faces, "you really _like_ him, don't you?"

She blushed and bonked his head. "Baka! Stop messing around and get back to work!"

He continued chuckling. "What about you? You aren't helping out either."

Before the conversation could escalate, Seto spoke up. "Hey, calm down you two. You both need to save your strength for the day we've planned for."

Kido breathed in deeply as she put her fist back down. Kano kept giggling, but he stopped teasing her for the moment.

Konoha approached the pair and said, "We are still going to have a barbecue, right leader?"

She smiled at the 9th Member of the Mekakushi Dan. "Of course, Konoha. Don't worry, today should be a great one. I have a good feeling about this."

He nodded. "Okay."

All of a sudden, Kido's phone started ringing. She took it out and saw that Momo was calling her. "Hello, Momo," she answered. "Is Shintaro awake?"

"Leader!" Momo shrieked. Kido became very tense. "Big brother's missing!"

The tomboy froze. "What?" Everyone in the room stopped working and looked at her in confusion. She sounded very worried.

"Shintaro," Momo continued, "is missing! He left in the middle of the night and hasn't come back! Me and Ene are heading to your apartment right now." With that, the idol hung up.

Hibiya broke the uneasy silence. "Hey, leader, what did Momo say? How's Ene and Shintaro?"

Kido wasn't answering. Kano waved his hand of front of her face, but she still wouldn't respond. He tried grabbing her shoulders and shaking her, but it brought no results.

"Marry, did you use your power on Kido?"

The short girl shook her head. Everyone was very confused at how their leader was acting, but no matter what they did, she remained still. Why was she paralyzed like this?

It was fear. _Where is Shintaro?_ Kido thought. _He's still hurt! What the hell is he thinking?_

In a few minutes, there was knock on the front entrance. Konoha opened the door and led Momo into the living room. She had Shintaro's phone with Ene in it.

Kido finally awoke from her paralysis and faced the newcomers. She asked, "What exactly happened, Momo?"

Momo was out of breath, but she raised the phone up so that everyone could see Ene. The cyber girl played Shintaro's voicemail.

Konoha was the first to respond. "What kind of personal trip did Shintaro go on?" The airhead sounded lost and bewildered. The rest of the Dan started talking and asking questions.

"How can we not worry about him?"

"Oh, where did he go?"

"Maybe Shintaro is just playing a prank. I must have taught him well!"

"Kano, stop joking around this is serious!"

"Oi, Auntie! What did you to him last night? He's still hurt, right?

"I didn't doing anything, shota!"

"Little sister! Little brother! Stop fighting! We need to figure out where Master went!"

While everyone was talking, Kido spoke loudly up to quell the noise. "Hey, everyone, pipe down!" Once they all calmed down, she said, "So no one has any clear idea where Shintaro went?" When everyone shook their heads, she continued. "Then the only thing we can do is head out and start looking for him."


	3. Chapter 3

Kido started walking, letting the reality of Shintaro's disappearance sink in. Then she began to increase her stride, turning around every corner for any sign of him. She hadn't even realized that she had left the rest of the Dan behind.

"Hold on, Kido!" Someone grabbed her arm, abruptly halting her in her tracks. It was Kano.

His trademark smile was absent. In its place was a small frown. "We'll find him, Kido. We're all worried for him."

The leader stared into his yellow eyes before she shook her head. "I know, I know. Sorry for rushing ahead." She looked pass him. "Where's everyone else?"

Kano's grin returned. "After you ran ahead so recklessly, we decided to split up into groups of two. I came to make sure our little miss Danchou didn't trip over her feet."

Kido sighed and hit the boy's head. "I'm not that clumsy, baka. Let's keep looking."

When she resumed her walk, Kano started giggling. "Oh, that wasn't as hard as most of your usual hits. Leader must be really distracted with her missing boyfriend."

Kano was surprised that she didn't turn back to hit him again, but he was sure that she was blushing. He laughed again before following her, red eyes observing his surroundings.

_You better have a damn good reason for hurting her like this, Shintaro,_ the blonde thought.

Kido asked Kano where the rest of their friends were searching. He responded, keeping his true expression hidden under the same, annoying smile that irritated her.

_I've forgiven you for what happened with Ayano, but I _will_ make you pay if something happens to Kido. _His smile turned dark, eyes narrowing, but Kido couldn't tell. _They love you. You snared their hearts, so you should take better care of them. _

Kano's phone started ringing. The pair paused as he answered it. "Yo, Seto, what did you –"

He never finished his sentence as his face made contact with the ground. As he fell, Kano snatched his phone. "Seto! What did you find?" In the corner of her eye, Kano was twitching, face still sticking to the pavement.

"Um, leader… " It was Marry.

Kido's voice became more strained with worry. "Marry, are you okay? What happened?"

"Seto and I are at that bridge, the one near the school." She sounded as nervous as always but continued. "And… we found Shintaro's red scarf."

Silence. Then, "We'll be there in five minutes. Call everyone else." Kido paused before hanging up. "Wait, why didn't Seto call? Why are you calling?"

"Well, there was a little rat sleeping on the scarf when we found it. We startled it, and Seto is trying to convince him that we need that it."

Kido replied, "Alright, be there soon." With that, she ended the call and pulled Kano back to his feet.

"That hurt, you kno –"

"Shut up." She pushed his phone into his hands. "Call everyone else. Marry and Seto found Shintaro's scarf."

X

"Be careful, Seto! Ma-maybe I should just freeze it, or –"

"I'll be fine, Marry. It's just a little irritated and tired." Seto smiled at the short girl before looking back at the rodent. He frowned. _What kind of mouse is this, anyway?_

The small rat wrapped its lower body around the scarf like a towel. A peculiar yellow head was growling quietly. Narrow ears with black, pointed ends were hunched back. Red-colored hair formed circles on its cheeks.

_Weird… oh well._ Seto smiled again and kneeled down, slowly. "Can we please have that scarf back? It belongs to our friend."

No response, just more glaring.

"Have you seen him? His name's Shintaro, wears a red jersey. We're looking for him."

Snarling was replaced with a startled expression. The rat's ears stood completely vertical as the tips of its mouth curved downward.

"Oh, you _have_ seen him?"

Suddenly, he heard someone shouting his name. Turning his head, Seto saw the rest of the Dan jogging on one side of the bridge. After an exchange of waving hands, they all stopped behind Marry and spotted the unusual mouse. While she explained the situation to them, Hibiya unexpectedly yelled out, "You!"

Before anyone could comprehend what was happening, the boy lunged for the rat. However, as quick as light, the rodent dashed back and up on to the railing. Hibiya face planted on the concrete.

Momo shrieked and ran to help him up. Once he was sitting down and rubbing his temple, she proceeded to bonk him on the back of his head. "What the heck was that, you idiot? You almost scared the mouse away and hurt yourself in the process!"

Hibiya tried to shake his head out of his disorientation. His eyes opened to meet the damnable rat's. Anger filled his mind. Shrugging Momo's hand off his shoulder, he lunged once more.

The yellow mouse was distracted by Momo's presence. It saw Hibiya's second attack a moment too late. It jumped, biting the scarf and unraveling the fabric off its body. As it did so, Hibiya managed to grab the rodent's lightning-shaped tail. With a mighty pull, the rat fell towards the water below, the adolescent hanging on for dear life.

"_Hibiya!_" The idol reached forward but couldn't quite reach him. She and the others ran to the railing. They all watched as the two bodies descended downward.

Their cries stopped when a flash of bright white light took form over the flowing water. Hibiya and his target fell into the blazing shape. When their forms were no longer visible, the light disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

Suffice to say, the remaining Mekakushi Dan members were quite confused at the series of events that had just occurred.

"Hey, what just happened? What's wrong with little brother?" Momo looked at the phone screen.

"I… I don't know. He just tried to grab the mouse, they fell, and… there was this light… "

She was interrupted when Konoha jumped over the rail. Everyone screamed once more, but the white light consumed another victim.

Ene saw it this time. "Oh, so that's what happened."

Cue awkward pause.

The cyber girl spoke up again. "Let's jump in! Follow them! Maybe Master fell in there, too!"

"Wait, hold on!" Kido said. "We don't know if… if whatever that light was will pop up again! We need to think about this a little more."

Kano sighed. "You're no fun, leader," he muttered before flying over the railing. He disappeared like the others.

Kido was too surprised to make a response.

"The yellow mouse did have Shintaro's scarf." She, Marry, Momo, and Ene looked at Seto. He was watching the waves go by. "I'd recognize it anywhere. Besides, anyone could tell that wasn't a natural animal; the fur and the strength it used to pull Hibiya So," he looked at the rest of his adoptive family with a grin, "how about we treat this like another mission, yeah?"

Kido hesitated but replied with, "Alright, let's take turns jumping in."

Momo climbed over with Ene in her pocket. Seto and Marry held hands as they took their dive. Before Kido made her jump, she took off her hood. She took in the breeze, letting the wind flow around her green hair. Taking deep breathes, the tomboy looked down.

_It's not just about Shintaro_, she told herself. _Like Seto said, treat this like a mission. _ _Make sure that everyone stays safe._

With that in mind, she fell into the light.


End file.
